Prose written in neon lamps. A toy-like aircraft. And a bat's suede garment.

These works are on display at In and Out Reel ShanghArt, a contemporary art exhibition held in Shanghai's downtown mall Reel. The 40 pieces include paintings, installations, videos and photographs.

"(The exhibition is) funky, blurred, exposing, twisting and hilarious," visitor Cheng Xilin says.

The 31-year-old is especially impressed by Shi Yong's installation A Bunch of Happy Fantasy.

A Bunch of Happy Fantasy is a poem written in "illuminating" Chinese characters. Neon lamps create upside-down character strokes on staircases.

Shi's work is a personal translation and imagining of consumerism that conveys urban life, routines and emotions as shining lights. The works materialize text and ideas, the artist says.

Another work by Shi is titled We Don't Want to Stop. The aircraft-shaped machine is covered in woolen cloth. Components include buttons, cloth sacks, suit sleeves and Buick tires. At first glance, it looks like a toy, or a child's art class project made from recycled materials.

But the artist says it's a representation of the fast-moving industrialization of the city and the world.

"We can't stop, and we don't want to stop," says the installation's description.

Another highlight is a series of animals' clothes - an outfit for a bat, a coat for bird and a pair of boots for an ostrich.

These avian garments are metaphors for human beings' dilemma - if we were birds instead of humans, what would we choose: the ability to fly or charming attire? Is the clothing a blessing or a curse, a freedom or a burden?

Visitors might have their own answers after seeing the works and reading the description.

Many of the artworks are collections of ShanghArt, a gallery in Shanghai's Taopu area. The Reel gives an opportunity to the contemporary artworks to be showcased to the public, drawing the public closer to the art world, according to a joint statement of ShanghArt and Reel, co-organizers of the exhibition.

"These artworks are especially troubling, astonishing and inspiring when you are torn apart by the beautiful, fancy fashion items in the stores and these piercing, questioning artworks," says Lu Miao, a visitor to the exhibition.

"I guess this is the point of pushing people to redefine what is really in and out."

wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/15/2014 page9)